Journal profile · Developmental Biology
Developmental Cell
ISSN 1534-5807 · eISSN 1878-1551 · Cell Press · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 2001
Developmental Cell: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 9; hybrid open access; APC about USD 10,400; median 149 days to acceptance (92 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: hard; 260 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Developmental Cell is published by Cell Press and is in Zone 1 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Microtubule and mitosis dynamics, Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation and Cellular Mechanics and Interactions, together about 23.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology and Cell Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Developmental Cell, launched in 2001, is a broad-interest journal covering the areas of cell biology and developmental biology. In addition to publishing work spanning all areas of cell biology and developmental biology, we have particular interest in how these fields interface with each other and with other disciplines in biology. The journal aims to showcase work that examines, through a cell biological lens, the fundamentals of how a cell works, how cells interact with one another and with the environment, how cells come together to form a tissue, organ, and ultimately a whole organism, and what happens when any of these processes go awry.Our PhD-trained scientific editors work with authors, reviewers, and editorial board members to publish 12 issues each year, filled with exciting research describing results of unusual significance. We also publish review and perspective articles tailored to the journal’s broad readership. With this wide coverage, Developmental Cell is a unique cross-disciplinary resource for researchers in cell biology and developmental biology and for the general scientific community.Developmental Cell will consider papers in any area of cell biology or developmental biology, as well as at the interface either of these fields make to any other areas in biology. Examples of these include signaling, cell proliferation, polarity, cell migration, cell lineage and fate specification, chromatin regulation and function, cancer cell biology, evo-devo, disease etiology, membrane traffic, metabolic regulation, morphogenesis and biomechanics, organ development, ncRNAs, stem cell biology, and regeneration. We are also interested in studies building on large datasets or developing new tools that could be good fits for our Resource or Technology formats. The primary criterion for publication in Developmental Cell, as for all Cell Press journals, is new biological insight. We are happy to consider any study that leads to important new conclusions about biological function.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Developmental Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Microtubule and mitosis dynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9%
- Developmental Biology and Gene RegulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.5%
- Cellular Mechanics and InteractionsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7%
- Cellular transport and secretionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Plant Molecular Biology ResearchAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.4%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5%
- Hippo pathway signaling and YAP/TAZBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Developmental Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Developmental Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Developmental Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 9LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 9.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 15.7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 15.7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 5.49LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.37LetPub ·
- h-index
- 239LetPub ·
- h-index
- 368OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,712OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 11.16OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 33.98%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 216LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,425 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 135 | 46 | 111 |
| 2025 | 260 | 131 | 2,092 |
| 2024 | 286 | 280 | 5,394 |
| 2023 | 233 | 233 | 7,116 |
| 2022 | 214 | 214 | 9,972 |
| 2021 | 292 | 292 | 16,426 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
149 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 14 days – 339 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 27 days (57 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 280 days
- Sample
- 92 articles with submission and acceptance dates (523 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 3–6 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- HardLetPub ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 207 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 10,400 / EUR 9,640 / GBP 8,330 / JPY 1,289,910 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 10,400 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 10,400 (excluding taxes). The amount you pay may be reduced during submission if applicable.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Cell Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2001
- ISSN
- 1534-5807
- Electronic ISSN
- 1878-1551
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Developmental Cell
What CAS zone is Developmental Cell in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Developmental Cell is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Cell Biology / Developmental Biology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Developmental Cell?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 9; CiteScore 15.7, h-index 368.
How long does peer review take at Developmental Cell?
Based on the dates recorded on 92 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 149 days (interquartile range 14–339 days); authors report an average review time of 3–6 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Hard”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Developmental Cell?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Developmental Cell is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Developmental Cell open access, and what is the APC?
Developmental Cell is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 10,400.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .